Nyantakyi must take a cue from Blatter’s resignation

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IN 2015, the world was greeted with the sudden and, indeed, shocking resignation of Sepp Blatter, then president of football’s world governing body, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

Mr Blatter’s resignation came just days after being re-elected for a fifth term. His election was characterised by tautness amidst corruption allegations against top officials of the federation.

It, therefore, did not come as a surprise when he failed to clinch the needed two-thirds to win convincingly. The former FIFA president’s fifth term was doomed from the outset. The English Football Association warned that he would not last due to alleged corruption and cracks within the governing body.

Though Russia and France strongly supported Mr Blatter, a huge opposition from England meant a bleak future. Prior to his re-election, FIFA was embroiled in high profile corruption scandal which led to the arrest of seven top officials in Switzerland. In all, 14 people were indicted.

The investigation, which was undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with support from the authorities in Switzerland, had spanned some 20 years before. And though Mr Blatter was not indicted, the yearning for him to step aside was intense.

In doing the right thing, therefore, Mr Blatter recognised during a press conference to announce his exit that his election did not seem to be supported by all: “My mandate does not appear to be supported by everybody,” he stated.

The then 79-year-old Swiss called an extraordinary FIFA congress to elect a new president, which opened a new chapter for football administration in the world.

The President of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Kwasi Nyantakyi, has also been embroiled in some controversies which are under investigations by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service following an investigative piece put together by Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ Tiger Eye PI and the BBC.

So far, public opinion is heavily against Mr Nyantakyi though the allegations of false pretence, among other issues, are yet to be proven in a court of law.

The DAILY HERITAGE, therefore, thinks the honourable thing to do in the midst of this brouhaha is for Mr Nyantakyi to step aside at least until the investigations are over.